By Wilson Adekumola
The Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, Senate will on Tuesday resume plenary after the Eid-el Kabir holiday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, majority and minority leaders are expected to emerge.
The All Progressives Congress with the largest number of members, is expected to produce the majority leader, while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party will produce the minority leader.
NAN reported that while APC has 59 senators; PDP has 36; Labour Party eight; Social Democratic Party two; New Nigeria Peoples Party two; Young Peoples Party one and All Progressives Grand Alliance one.
This reveals that the 10th National Assembly made up of seven political parties has 50 as opposition members.
The ruling APC and the minority caucus are also expected to fill the vacant eight principal positions.
While APC is expected to produce the majority leader, deputy majority leader, chief whip and deputy chief whip, the four principal positions reserved for the minority caucus are minority leader, deputy minority leader, minority whip and deputy minority whip.
PDP, being the major opposition party, is expected to produce the minority leader, deputy leader, minority whip and deputy minority whip.
Nominations for the positions are purely the affairs of political parties with the majority of seats in the senate.
According to NAN, the major contenders for the senate majority leader’s seat include: Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele,APC-Ekiti, and Sen. Mohammed Ndume, APC-Borno.
The duo were said to be among the arrowheads of Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s campaign for the senate presidency.
Ndume served as the director-general of Akpabio’s campaign committee, while Bamidele was the deputy.
Also, Sen. Adamu Aliero, PDP-Kebbi and Sen. Aminu Tambuwal, PDP-Sokoto are contenders for the minority leader seat.
